Shining Girls (2022) s01e07 Episode Script

1 Mom, can you turn the music down? - Mom, turn the music down.
- Hmm.
When the fuck did you sneak in? Why are you at my place? They turned the water off in my building again.
I needed a shower before the show.
Um, also, you need to buy some more conditioner.
You didn't happen to take Tokyo for a walk, did you? Um, no.
But I fed her.
Mom, you cannot feed the dog pizza.
Why? She likes it.
All right.
No pizza, no pizza.
Don't freak out.
I'm leaving.
Steve is rolling sound check.
I gotta get there before he fucks up the inputs.
Let me just fix this.
You never do it right.
Okay.
You seem happy.
Yeah, and guess what? I got my first solo byline today.
What does that mean? Is that a promotion? Um, not yet.
Maybe soon.
Um, I'm covering a trial.
There's this judge who took a bunch of bribes.
- So I'm gonna do a whole series.
- That's so great.
- That's what you wanted, right? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Ah! - Congratulations.
- Thanks, Mom.
- Come by later, okay? - Okay.
- We'll celebrate.
- Okay.
- All right, wish me luck! - Good luck! Wanna play? Huh? You wanna fetch it? Go fetch.
Stay still, you fucking whore.
That's where I ended up, just on the ground.
I could really see it.
The sand and cigarette butts.
I didn't want that to be the last thing I saw, so I just kept moving.
I wanted to get far enough that I didn't die looking at trash.
And then someone found me.
Did anyone else see him? No.
And I don't know how.
There were lots of people there when I showed up.
Then everyone emptied out.
- So, he followed you? - No.
He wasn't behind me.
He was ahead of me.
It was the same yesterday.
So he corners you on the ledge, and then what? Does he have a weapon? Does he lay a hand on you? No.
He didn't touch me.
He wasn't there for me.
He wanted me to tell you when he feels something, you'll know.
What time was that? Around 8:30.
Your car.
When he came for her, it changed.
He said he was coming back.
Your key chain.
He took your old one and left it in another woman.
What does that mean? Is he gonna kill me? He already has.
Just not yet.
All right, you ready? All right, get going.
No, not like that.
Just be you.
Like Teenie's.
"Teenie's.
" She could be a Christina.
Maybe she's just short.
Or maybe she's really big, and it's like a joke name.
Maybe Teenie's isn't a person.
Maybe it's a place.
Somewhere she works.
A bar… No, my dad would know it.
All right, we should head in.
Let's try to find an address for Teenie's.
You need to call Marcus? Give him a heads-up.
It'll be a few hours.
He's covering the Cubs game.
He'll be at the office.
You seem happy about it.
- Is there a reason I shouldn't be? - I don't know.
You said you never married him, that you came home and he was just there.
So he's a stranger.
He's not someone I really knew.
But, like you said, maybe he's what's to come.
Maybe he's a choice I'm gonna make.
Then you should tell him that.
See what he thinks.
Yeah.
What happened yesterday? Security asked me if I saw anybody hang around back here.
- Have you? - No one we don't know.
They also asked about you.
What'd you say? That it's two days before you're presenting years' worth of research, so you're wound pretty tight.
But, you know, that's to be expected.
There was some guy on the roof when I went up there yesterday.
Seriously? Uh, what happened? Did he do something to you? Or… I have to get through this.
It'll take all night to compress.
You wanna grab lunch? Uh, your graphics have already transferred.
It's not gonna take much longer.
Yeah.
Just give me a minute.
For the first time… Hey, uh, you know, I was thinking we might wanna do an update up on the star labs.
I'm totally fine with taking care of it if you need me to… Yeah.
Yeah, that's fine.
All around us, we see evidence of billions of years of cosmic evolution.
Our universe is a vast expanse of gas and dust, constantly colliding, evolving, expanding.
It is the cradle for billions of stars.
But all it takes is one star to change the course of a galaxy, a billion years into the future.
Please remember to gather all your personal belongings and visit the stars again soon.
Titan Tower.
Tower Hobbies.
There's no Teenie's.
Or they could have gone out of business.
Yeah, I'm not seeing it here either.
We should check city records.
The number's on my desk.
Could you give them a call? Yeah.
Hey.
- How'd the game go? - Good.
I thought you weren't coming in today.
We found a woman who knows him.
We're trying to track her down.
- She's not listed? - We don't know her name.
He knew her from some place.
Teenie's.
- The meatpacking plant in Archer Heights? - Maybe.
Why do you know that? The UFCW tried to get their workers to go on strike a few years ago.
They voted it down.
I shot the story.
Dan wrote the article.
Oh, I don't think so.
He doesn't know it.
No, he doesn't remember it.
You should get some other people on this.
I can drive you down there.
We'll be fine.
Come here.
Uh… Up until, uh, last week, uh… I didn't really know you.
And those photos you showed me, I don't recognize any of them.
I don't understand.
You You're having trouble remembering? No.
I was never there.
Those photos It wasn't me.
Oh, who do you think it was then? It's still me.
But it's from a part of my life that I haven't gotten to yet.
Really? You think that? - Okay.
- Yeah.
- How long's it been like this? - Since your birthday.
Kirby, you can't keep going after this story.
You are not going to be okay.
I don't know you, but we are together because one day… I will.
What the fuck is Dan telling you? I'll find the manager.
The offices are back this way.
Look.
The precision of the cut.
He worked here.
What are you doing back there? Can I help you? No, you can't be in here in those shoes.
Everything on this floor is designed to hurt you.
I'm Kirby Mazrachi.
This is Dan Velazquez.
We're with the Sun-Times.
You should have connected with the front office, scheduled with Pam.
You're the floor manager? No, this is my brother's place.
We're looking for an employee of his.
Her name is Klara.
Blond.
In her 20s.
Not too tall.
She's a dancer.
Yeah, the dancer.
I know her.
That poor girl who was killed here.
Come on.
Follow me.
Watch your step here.
Watch your step.
Little slick.
Hey, sorry about the lights.
Some jackasses came down here and smashed them.
We get a lot of that.
People know it's where they found Klara and want to check it out.
Mostly stoned-out kids.
When did you stop using this area? About a decade ago.
That's when we got the refrigerated trucks.
Figured it was more sanitary to slaughter the hogs over in Aurora.
We used to do it on-site though.
With that guy there.
Hoist the hogs up onto the line.
Send 'em over to the sticker.
He'd bleed 'em and let it drain into the tank.
That's where Klara was found.
They couldn't miss her.
Man, I heard she was really bright down there.
What do you mean? From the radium.
She was covered in it.
This stuff has a half-life of 1,600 years.
Finally gonna get rid of the old tank.
Turn this whole place into cold storage.
Could your workers sneak back here, you know, after you shut it down? There's no real reason to come here.
Except to dump a body.
But this whole area was up and running when they found her.
I thought you said it had shut down ten years ago.
It did.
They found her in 1920.
Like I said, it was a while ago.
She was one of the first women to work here.
Well, I gotta get back to the deliveries.
My brother's here today.
He can talk to you.
That's too far back.
It can't be the same woman.
What? What is it? He dumped her body in this tank with the blood and the shit.
- He was trying to hide her.
- No.
He was trying to punish her.
- One.
Two.
Three.
Four - Keep counting.
Five.
Six.
There.
That's it.
That's your cue.
Our on-site aperture telescope captured this image.
Overhead you'll notice a cluster of stars at the edge of our galaxy.
Omega Centauri.
Now, these may look like any other stars, but they don't belong here.
Billions of years ago, we collided with another galaxy.
And these stars, they're all that's left of it.
And now, another galaxy is making its way towards us.
Andromeda.
Four billion years into the future, an irreversible collision will occur Oh.
Uh, my mic's dead.
Hey, Theo.
Theo, my mic's crapped out.
Can we run another sound check? My mic's dead.
Hey, Theo? What is this? What are you playing? Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
No! No! No! Sorry about that.
I ducked out to go to the bathroom and somehow got locked out of the booth.
Are you all right? They could have employment records, union cards.
The UFCW's been up and running since this place has been here, so… Kirby? Hey, you okay? Hey, your phone's been ringing nonstop.
Someone named Kirby.
Uh, I told her you'd call her back, but she just keeps calling.
How'd tech rehearsal go? Hello? Jinny? Are you okay? Was he there? My dad ran this place, he had tours every day.
People just wanted to see what we were up to.
Let me tell you, a real brilliant surgical butcher.
He knows how to dress a hog.
Used to take a whole day, and now they hack Just stay there.
Okay, I will.
Bye.
- And even when my kids were small - Excuse me.
- Oh, sure.
- What's up? - She thinks he was there.
- Is she okay? Yeah, I tried to get her to go home, but she's giving some big talk tonight.
These are the only union cards we have from back then.
Give me those.
They might have more at the hall on West Adams.
- They're all kids.
- You know, that's the way it was.
Uh, they would have started at, uh, 11 or 12.
- There's a few John Smiths here.
- Mm-hmm.
- They all look underage.
- Yeah.
- Probably a work-around, right? - Yeah, well.
As long as you could pay the dues, they'd put you on the line.
That's her.
That's Klara.
Do you have anything else on her? Maybe an address? Her family could still be around, right? I'm guessing this is all we have.
- What would the younger ones do? - Well, uh, cattle run.
They'd drive the steers up to the killing floor.
They'd be the ones to last see them alive.
Well, that's how I got started.
If you were too big, you'd get caught between steers and the rails.
I learned to move pretty fast.
Dan.
"My name is Kirby Mazrachi.
I work at the Chicago Sun-Times.
My desk is in the southeast corner.
Blue scissors.
Susan sits to the left of me.
" I don't understand what this is.
I thought it was something she just used to clear her thoughts, but… …now she's saying she doesn't remember anything.
Like what? Like who she is.
Like where she sits.
Who she's talking to.
Everything you just read.
You kept pushing her to chase after this story.
- You kept pushing her to put herself… - Uh, no.
…in the fucking paper to try and find the fucking guy! She wanted to do all that.
- And you and Dan kept clapping for her.
- Yeah.
Why aren't you? Because she needs to write down her fucking name to remember who she is.
You need to talk to your wife.
'Cause I shouldn't have seen whatever this is.
You know, I never I never let people take too many photos of me.
I never feel like I need 'em.
I see myself.
I stay in flight.
I don't cause arguments.
I don't fight.
But when my wife told me what happened to her… I wanted to find him and kill him.
Never felt that before, that violence.
Oh, it pulled the center out of me.
It changed me to somebody I don't even recognize.
And I can't even imagine what she is going through right now.
She really doesn't remember who she is.
And I'm watching it happen to her.
If you don't wanna hear it, then I don't know who I am supposed to tell.
Who do I tell? He could be this guy's son or-or grandson.
- Men look like their fathers.
- You saw him.
This is him.
How do we tell anyone this? Maybe we publish the photo and leave out the rest? Abby will want to know where we got it.
What do we tell her? She won't listen to me, but she knows you.
She knows me.
- I thought you two were close.
- No, we're close.
We were close.
I used to write a Sunday series.
And Abby, she would She would let me take my time with it.
But she took you off that.
The police pulled me off a construction site on Clybourn.
I had been there for weeks.
I don't know, I was I was so high when they arrested me.
I remember that I kept telling them that I was with the Sun-Times and that I was working on a story… But when Abby bailed me out, I couldn't even remember what I was supposed to be writing about.
The people I write about, something went wrong.
I meet them on the edge of their lives.
And I get to be there with them, standing next to them, standing on the precipice.
And my brain shuts off.
I forget about everything.
Is that what's gonna happen to me? You won't remember we were here? Dad! I should grab Freddie.
Bring him with us.
Dad! Hey, Freddie.
Come on.
Let's go.
We have to go back to the office.
You type her name in there.
"Klara Meiser.
" And then check it out.
Hey.
Um.
Hey, I need your contact at CPD to pull a file for an unsolved murder.
Klara Meiser, was killed at a slaughterhouse - in 1920.
- Sure, but Kirby - Can you have them fax over a copy? - Um, yeah.
Abby's looking for you.
Okay.
Hey.
You mind taking a seat? Is everything okay? Nothing I'm about to say is a reflection of your contribution to the paper.
This is about the property warehouse? I've had to have some difficult conversations.
- With who? - This is all happening internally.
You need to take a leave of absence.
We'll reassess your position here in a couple of months.
Are you firing me? Take some time.
Take care of yourself.
And then we'll figure out where you fit in here.
- What's going on? - Dan, give me a minute.
Abby, what is this? She's firing me.
It's a leave of absence.
What about my story? We'll continue to cover it.
But without me.
Okay.
Okay, just Let's talk this out.
We just did.
You need to sign some paperwork to get your closing check.
No.
Okay, don't leave.
Okay? Give me a minute.
This is crazy.
She's telling the truth.
That's fine, that's what we printed.
But she's not doing well.
She found him.
Really? This is where we are for now.
This is from 1916.
I have two eyewitnesses.
- He'd be, like, a hundred years old.
- Yeah, but he's not.
Because I saw him.
What the fuck are you saying? It's It's not anyone else, Abby, this is him.
This is him.
I don't know how to explain it, but this is him.
Listen, we have to publish this sketch.
And we have to show it to the families.
- No.
There will be none of that.
- This is him.
- This is him.
- We're - This is him! - We're not doing any of that! Go home.
Go hang out with your kid.
You all right? Why do you have all my stuff? Let's get out of here.
Come on, we'll talk about it at home.
How did you know? You told me you don't remember me.
I'd be negligent if I ignored that.
So you got me fired? No, I got you a break.
Some time to figure this shit out.
That's what I'm doing.
It's not going really well.
Not from where I'm standing.
Come on, we should go.
Where? Where am I going? Just because I don't work here anymore doesn't mean I'm gonna stop looking for him.
So you're gonna ignore everything else? We have a good life.
It's not mine.
I'll go by your place and get my things.
Just give me a couple hours.
Okay.
- Take however long you need.
- Hmm.
Hey.
I just need a few minutes.
I'm double-parked.
What do you want me to grab? Um, I don't know, anything that looks like mine.
Okay, Mom, some of these are definitely Marcus's.
Well, fuck him, he got you fired.
You can take whatever you want.
Relax.
What is this? Did you pay money for this? - I guess.
- Well, it's not coming with us.
I don't know what to pack here.
None of this feels like you.
Just try the closet.
Thanks for this.
Oh, yeah, it's fine.
Nobody else was using the van at the ministry.
Oh.
Well, you're all over the fucking place today, aren't you? Don't worry about me, okay? I don't.
I know you're gonna be okay.
You got so far at the Trib before all that shit happened.
Remember you were breaking that story about the judge who was taking bribes.
You were going to write about it on your own and everything.
Wait, what? I I don't remember the creep's name.
You told me about it.
It was gonna be a series.
That was the night.
The night I was gonna get my first byline.
Yeah, I know.
You were on a rocket.
You'll get back there.
He knew that.
He fucking knew that.
I have to go.
- Bring my stuff to your place.
- You know where to find me.
She's probably sleeping.
We can drive over to her house.
Get some food on the way.
Yeah.
Yeah, let's do that.
Kirby asked Bertie for this.
Do you know where she went? What is it? It's a police report.
Some old one.
- Klara Meiser.
I'll take it.
Thanks.
- Okay.
Read me the property report.
- "One burlap bag.
Loose paper.
- Mm-hmm.
One fur stole, chestnut brown.
Pearl earrings.
" Go back.
The paper.
Is anything written on it? It's an address.
"4232 Clifton Street.
" There's a bunch of numbers.
I don't think they knew what they meant.
This is a date.
See? April 15th, 1981.
It's a receipt.
From 1981? How could she have that? Isn't this super old? Okay.
Let's go.
Let's go.
Let's go.
I like this.
You look like a Magellanic Cloud.
That's what I was going for.
Jinny, go talk to people.
This is all for you.
You gotta soak it up.
I will.
Okay.
All right, see you inside.
Hey, um, we're fucked.
I can't get the Ogden live feed to register.
I linked it up this afternoon.
It should be fine.
I don't know.
I tried everything.
It's not showing.
Jinny? I'm here.
I'm fine.
Where is he? Is this the place? Maybe they have some food.
Yeah, this is where the receipt's from.
Probably have, like, vending machines or something.
They're not gonna let you in there, man.
I'll be quick.
Okay? I don't understand why he isn't here.
This is how it was for me.
This was your night.
This is what you wanted.
This is what you worked towards.
He knew that.
He should've been here.
Where is he? Why isn't he here? I don't care.
I'm fucking late.
I have to grab my notes.
How did you find her? Thanks, man.
I'm sorry, I can't let you in.
The lecture's about to start.
Well, not without me.
I'm Dr.
Gwansun.
Okay.
And I'm Mike from Lake View.
I'm the keynote speaker.
Look.
Who changed that? Why is that there? Mike? What's going on out here? We need to get started.
Hi, uh, we're about to get going, if you wanna grab your seat.
What are you talking about? Uh, I'm presenting a talk.
Cut it out.
You're being fucking weird! Wait I'm sorry, who are you? Ma'am, this is a private event.
You'll have to come back when we're open for the public.
Can you hear me? You need to leave now, okay? What's happened to us? Hey.
Hey.
You're my dad's friend, right? Hey, Freddie! How you doing? Were you hanging out with my dad? When's he coming out? Oh, no, no.
I haven't seen him around.
He was in the bar.
That one.
You just came out of there.
Well, you know, it's a pretty big place in there.
It's loud, so must've missed him.
That's his jacket.
Why are you wearing it? - That's my dad's jacket.
- I don't think so.
You take care, Freddie.
All right?